Wireless networking connects one or more wireless devices to other computer devices without a direct electrical connection, such as a copper wire or optical cable. Wireless devices communicate data, typically in the form of packets, across a wireless or partially wireless computer network and open a “data” or “communication” channel on the network such that the device can send and receive data packets. The wireless devices often have wireless device resources, including firmware incorporated on original equipment manufacturer (OEM) chipsets, which individually and cooperatively operate and generate data in accordance to their design and specific protocol or configuration. Such designs and configurations may include, for example, accessing firmware resident diagnostic tools operable to transmit and receive data in open communication connections with networked devices.
Data being transmitted between wireless devices and remote servers often includes sensitive material and may be subject to malicious attack. For example, client configurations may be downloaded from a remote server to a wireless device. As these configurations may provide insight into a vendor's network operations, a vendor may wish to secure such transmissions from prying eyes. Furthermore, network diagnostic applications resident on a wireless device may transmit network statistics or other log information to a remote server. These logs may contain information useful to a competitor and as a result, may be targeted for interception. Furthermore, intercepting the messages between the wireless client and the server may allow a competitor to reverse engineer the client server interface in order to spoof the legitimate server and communicate with the wireless client with malicious intent.
Furthermore, within the wireless device itself, unauthorized client applications downloaded to the device may maliciously or unintentionally access an application programming interface (“API”) with handset firmware, with the potential for causing damage to the handset and to the network.
Accordingly, it would be advantageous to provide apparatus and methods providing a secure architecture for wireless devices.